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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave, Cedric Gemehl, Didier Darcet
Sep 09th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable (in French), Sept 2020
In a turbulent economic environment, Louis sought to identify assets with “anti-fragile” qualities; Cedric deciphered the message from European markets; Didier Darcet refreshed refresh an old Gavekal framework with “Four Quadrants 2.0” and Charles moderated the discussion.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Sep 08th 2020
Better Days For Europe’s Domestic Plays
It is hardly surprising that euro strength is generally bad for European exporter stocks and good for domestically-focused firms; or that exporter-heavy markets, like Germany, tend to lag at such moments. We saw this in 2017, when the euro rose almost 12% against the dollar between April and August, spurring a -2.4% fall in the DAX and a 0.7% gain in the broad Eurostoxx. So how to explain this year’s topsy-turvy markets, where the sprightly DAX...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Sep 08th 2020
Victory Over The Virus
With no new domestic cases in almost a month, Xi Jinping effectively declared victory on Tuesday in the struggle against Covid-19. In this Quick Take, Gilliam explains how China’s post-Covid landscape is shaping up for consumer services, and why Beijing is unlikely to open up internationally any time soon.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Sep 08th 2020
Desperately Seeking Anti-Fragility (Part II): In The Eye Of The Beholder
Previously, Louis outlined the four asset classes that investors appear to regard as anti-fragile, now that US treasuries no longer fit the bill. With each of these four asset classes enjoying a roaring bull-run, today Louis examines the typical life cycle that lifts an asset class from unloved hell to anti-fragile heaven.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Sep 07th 2020
After The ‘Pump And Dump’
August was an odd month in the US equity market. It saw Apple, the world’s largest company by market value, add US$650bn to its market-cap despite a string of troubling news. Yet for most investors, the biggest head-scratcher may have been the continued rise in the VIX, even as stocks, led by the Nasdaq, continued to make new highs.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie, Tan Kai Xian
Sep 04th 2020
The Implications Of A Disputed Election
The pundits bill every US presidential election as the most important and dramatic for years, if not decades. This time they may have a point. However, an examination of the laws governing elections and of past ructions suggests any turbulence for investors will be limited and short-lived.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave, Will Denyer
Sep 04th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, September 2020
Charles Gave, Louis Gave and Will Denyer joined Arthur Kroeber at the global investment roundtable to discuss what's going on in the global economy. Charles identified three big trends that will affect the investment environment in the long term, Will gave an in-dept update on the US economy, and Louis examined where to find assets with “anti-fragile” properties.
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Gavekal Research
Edward Hookey, Udith Sikand
Sep 04th 2020
A Little Battler Soars Too High
A weak US dollar is generally a boon for both global growth and asset prices, yet its recent fall has ruffled feathers. So spare a thought for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is not only presiding over the country’s first recession in 30 years but is getting no help from its “little battler” currency, which has rocketed 27% against the US dollar since its March low.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Sep 03rd 2020
Restraint And Retaliation
As the US government has rolled out ever more actions targeting Chinese firms, China has exercised restraint and has mostly opted not to retaliate in kind. As Dan explains, the government is taking the long view on the economy rather than pandering to nationalist outrage. But China is also developing legal tools that could be used to hurt US firms.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Sep 03rd 2020
Why I Was Right To Turn Bullish
Previously, Anatole tried to explain why he had abandoned the bearish view on equities. We will not know for a long time whether any of his explanations make sense, but Jerome Powell’s speech about the Federal Reserve’s new operating philosophy bolstered his confidence in a once-in-a-generation economic regime change.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave
Sep 03rd 2020
Strategy Monthly: Eight Questions, 11 Answers
With US equities once again at record highs and the Fed promising to keep rates nailed to the floor, it is time to ask hard questions of the bull market that won’t die. That interrogation is conducted by Charles and Louis Gave. In these strange times, the case for owning anti-fragile assets has rarely been stronger, they contend. Four stand out for having weathered the pandemic and should be treated seriously.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Sep 02nd 2020
The Dollar Still Has Downside
Has the great US dollar correction of 2020 run its course? After all, the DXY index is down -10% from its March 19 top and -4.4% lower year-to-date. There have been good reasons to sound Cassandra-like warnings on the US currency and while some negative drivers have moderated, the balance of evidence implies more downside.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Sep 02nd 2020
Video: Covid-19's Investment Implications For Asia
Asia has handled the pandemic decently well and its solid macroeconomic fundamentals means it does not face any kind of solvency crisis. The problem for investors is that the growth outlook remains pretty grim, with limited prospects for a swift improvement. As a result, investors should stick with local currency bonds, which look well set in this environment.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand, Vincent Tsui
Sep 02nd 2020
The Model Pupil Still Has Problems
Asia is seen as having had a “good” Covid-19 crisis, as it learnt vital lessons from the 2003 Sars outbreak and its policymakers have been typically more frugal than their Western peers.The problem with such generalizations, argue Udith and Vincent, is that they conceal huge discrepancies among countries.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Sep 01st 2020
Good News For Corporate Earnings
Good news for corporates: aggregate Q2 net profits for China’s listed non-financial firms were flat YoY, compared to a 50% Q1 decline. In this Quick Take, Thomas explains why he thinks this recovery in listed earnings is likely to continue through H2; however, he expects Q2’s big outperformers to take a step back in the coming months.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Sep 01st 2020
The Perfect Asian Proxy
The Federal Reserve’s new policy framework seems set to keep US monetary policy easier for longer, with the main victim being the dollar. Asian currencies now look well primed and the question for investors is how to play this trend given the very different experiences being had by regional economies. Fortunately, there is a simple answer: just buy the Singapore dollar.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Sep 01st 2020
A (Short) History Of Central Banking In The US
Gavekal readers will be familiar with Charles's distinction between tools and jewels as a way of thinking about markets. He notes that today we have negative real interest rates while gold has outperformed both cash over the last 12 months and the US stock market since 2018. Today, he asks if we are at the start of a new counter-trend rally in gold relative to US equities.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Aug 31st 2020
The Experiment With Sectoral Monetary Policy
Central banks usually concern themselves with the economy in the aggregate. The People’s Bank of China is now experimenting with a disaggregated approach, minimizing changes in overall policy and instead directing the flow of credit to specific sectors. In this piece, Wei considers whether this experiment can work, and where rates are headed.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Aug 31st 2020
US Profits In The Pandemic
My preferred “NIPA profits” measure fell by -14.4% during the second quarter of the year, according to US national accounts data released late last week. That follows a similarly bad -13.3% fall in the first quarter. Both declines are on par with the worst quarters in post-war history. And like previous low points, US corporate profitability is likely to recover from here. But what does the data tell us about the investment environment and what...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 28th 2020
Desperately Seeking Anti-Fragility (Part I)
Since the 1980s, OECD government bonds have tended to be negatively correlated with equities, but during the pandemic that relationship seems to have broken down. Given that the Federal Reserve is embracing a new policy framework aimed at juicing up inflation, there are plenty of reasons to think that bonds cannot continue to play an "anti-fragile" role in portfolios. In this first installment of a two-part series looking at what...
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Aug 28th 2020
The Fed Boosts The Inflation Outlook
The Federal Reserve made a historic change to its monetary policy framework yesterday when it officially adopted “average inflation targeting”. That bullseye remains 2%, but the definition of the target has changed in a way that, in the current context, effectively raises the inflation outlook. This has important implications for future policymaking and current asset pricing.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 28th 2020
An Acceptable Amount Of Chaos
The first batch of 18 firms on Shenzhen’s tech-oriented ChiNext board under new registration-based IPO regulations exhibited exceptional levels of price volatility this week after their Monday debut. In this Quick Take, Thomas explains why this volatility is to be expected in Chinese equities and might even be an improvement on the status quo.
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Aug 27th 2020
Rich, But Keeping It Real
The US consumer's willingness to spend remains reliable, even during the pandemic, as shown by consumer discretionary stocks sharply outperforming the rest of the market. Since this stock grouping includes pandemic winners like Amazon and Home Depot there is little reason to bet on a trend-change, as the macro winds should remain favorable.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson, Dan Wang
Aug 27th 2020
The Dimensions Of Decoupling In 2020
The “decoupling” of the US and Chinese economies that began with a trade war has now spread to almost all aspects of the relationship, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the process. In this chartbook, Andrew and Dan show what decoupling looks like so far in 2020, using data on flows of trade, investment, technology, finance and people.
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Gavekal Research
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Aug 27th 2020
Video: A South China Sea October Surprise?
Tensions in the South China Sea between the US and China are ramping up during a presidential campaign where the incumbent has set himself on a collision course with China. You do not have to be a crazed conspiracy theorist to wonder if this theatre could be the scene of an “October Surprise”.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Aug 26th 2020
Japan Drifts Toward Change
This week Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe went into hospital for medical tests, sparking fresh reports that he may soon step down on health grounds. Should Abe exit the scene it is unclear who will succeed him. If a leadership change becomes unavoidable, Abe will likely play a key role in anointing his successor, so there is unlikely to be a big shift in the “Abenomics” program anytime soon.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 25th 2020
Does Warren Buffett Know Something We Don't?
The sage of Omaha made an interesting change of tack recently. Warren Buffet sold most of his shares in Goldman Sachs and bought positions in Barrick Gold. Goldman is often held up as the very epitome of the Wall Street financial engineering firm. Meanwhile, Barrick represents the kind of company you would buy if you no longer trusted financial engineering—or the currency in which the financial engineering is taking place.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Aug 25th 2020
Understanding Dual Circulation
Top leader Xi Jinping is now promoting a new slogan—dubbed “dual circulation”—to manage China's significant dependencies on the global economy. In this report, Gilliam explains how this does not mean the country is turning inward, but rather trying to gain more control over its long-term growth without losing its role as an international hub.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Aug 25th 2020
A Bottom In Sight For European Banks
No sector has been so beaten down as eurozone banks. But although bad loan ratios are rising, and further big writedowns are on the cards, this bad news is in the price. What is less adequately priced in is the change in policy from the European Union which means there will be no early return to austerity. Eurozone banks may be better placed than investors believe to generate earnings.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Aug 24th 2020
The Euro's Solid Ground
After a breakneck 10% rally against the US dollar since mid-May, the euro faces headwinds as rising Covid-19 cases means that European nations must re-instigate social distancing measures. Still, Europe’s newly-agreed common purpose in facing such travails makes any sell-off in the single currency a buying opportunity as the unit looks set on a path of structural appreciation.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Aug 21st 2020
A New FDR?
Joe Biden has accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for the US presidency. Invoking Franklin D. Roosevelt, who responded to the Great Depression with huge public works, Biden promised big fiscal programs to “build back better” after the Covid-19 recession. He also vowed to combat climate change, reduce wealth disparities and advance liberal causes.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Aug 21st 2020
Climbing Up The Smartphone Smiling Curve
Chinese advances in hardware technology have increased the country’s contribution to the global smartphone supply chain. In this report, Dan explains how Chinese firms have increased their value-added in both innovation and branding. Now, he suggests, the main headwinds for Chinese smartphones are no longer technological, but geopolitical.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 21st 2020
Making Biarritz Great Again (Part II)
A few years back Charles and Louis bought into the storied Biarritz Olympique Rugby Club in order to save it from a looming bankruptcy. The ups and downs of this Basque region club during Covid is a microcosm of the French economy’s travails, as the state seeks to protect all players on the field of commerce from both crunching tackles and a spell in the sin bin.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 20th 2020
Headwinds Build For Equities
Chinese equities tapped on their ceiling this week but have been unable to break through, despite both surprisingly positive economic data and rebounding corporate earnings. In this piece, Thomas explains how increasingly adverse liquidity conditions are keeping a downward pressure on the markets which is unlikely to lift in the short term.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Aug 20th 2020
Video: The State Of The US Recovery
Pandemic aside, the US faces a looming fiscal cliff and rising political risk as the presidential election campaign starts proper. So why is Will so sanguine about the country’s economic prospects? In this video interview, he explains his position.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Aug 20th 2020
Europe’s Job-Protection Choices
Between February and April, some 22mn Americans lost their jobs. The rate of unemployment soared to nearly 15%—four percentage points above its last record high in 1982—but across the pond in Europe joblessness barely budged, inching up to 7.8%, from 7.2% in March. Taking the lead from Germany, governments across Europe decided it was better to keep people in jobs than to fire and rehire them later. As Europe again faces a worsening Covid-19...
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Aug 19th 2020
Solid US Earnings Do Not Mean Another Boom Beckons
With more than 90% of firms in the S&P 500 having reported for the second quarter, the hit to earnings came in nowhere near as bad as expected. This picture is likely to be sustained in the coming year, or so and should lay the ground for solid US equity market performance. Yet, those hoping for a sustained economic recovery to generate the kind of epic returns seen in 2Q20, or in 2009 after the financial crisis, will likely be disappointed.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Aug 18th 2020
Why I Was Wrong To Turn Bearish
Yesterday, Anatole suggested that stock markets may be soaring to new records because the Covid-19 crisis could indirectly produce a stronger world economy in the coming decade. Today, he seeks to explain his damascene conversion from post-March bearishness in order that readers can better judge the merit of this view.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Aug 18th 2020
A Death Sentence For Huawei
The US government has passed a death sentence on Huawei. The questions now are whether it will choose to suspend that sentence, and whether China will retaliate by punishing major US companies. The likely answers, says Dan, are no and no. Huawei is probably finished as a maker of 5G network equipment and smartphones once its inventories run out early next year.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Aug 17th 2020
Will A Keynesian Phoenix Arise From Covid?
Two months ago, Anatole dismissed the rebound in equity prices as an outbreak of “market madness” among bored small-time gamblers deprived of the opportunity to bet on horses and sports. He now admits that call was wrong and in this piece explains what has driven the market to new highs. The turnaround likely reflects the largescale reconversion of leading economies to Keynesian demand-management policies and the fact that these seem baked-in...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 17th 2020
The Past Is Another Country
With US$3trn added to the US national debt during the Covid-19 crisis and trillions more in the works should new salary replacement payments be agreed in Congress, a vital question for investors is how to think about this runaway government spending and what it means for bonds and the US dollar.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Aug 17th 2020
Don’t Call It A Bailout
China’s government is finally rolling out a plan to aid small banks, the weakest links in the nation’s financial system. But don’t call it a bailout, Xiaoxi argues in this piece: while the government will replenish RMB200bn in capital, the money will mostly support relatively solid banks. The truly troubled banks will be shuttered or acquired.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 14th 2020
Huawei And The Roads Of The Future
China is engaged in an imperial project that will not be typified by territorial conquest, but by “road building”. This is done to bring commodities to the heart of the empire at the cheapest cost, while higher value-added finished goods are pushed out to its outer realms. It is no coincidence that a common saying for Europeans is that “all roads lead to Rome’”.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley, Rosealea Yao, Wei He
Aug 14th 2020
Another Leg Up For Growth
After plateauing in Q2, China’s economic activity is stepping up in Q3, powered by demand in housing, infrastructure and exports, and a lessening drag in consumer services. In this Quick Take, Thomas, Rosealea and Wei explain how these factors will assist the country as it continues down its path back to economic normalcy.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Aug 13th 2020
Keep Chasing Asian Yield
As US equities brush up against new highs and safety assets like gold and treasuries sell off, global risk appetite has risen this week. Investors are betting that a vaccine for Covid-19 is at hand and if not, the world is at least learning to live with the virus. A potential beneficiary of this situation may be Asian bond markets, where quite decent yield can still be had.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 12th 2020
Building A New System
On Monday, Charles argued that developed economies’ moves to nationalize both the creation of money and the distribution of credit would degrade the unit-of-account function played by fiat currencies in many markets. Today, he outlines new monetary mechanisms that are likely to replace, or at least live alongside, fiat currencies.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Aug 12th 2020
Europe's Covid-19 Loan Drag
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, central banks in Europe have shoveled money to banks in a bid to have them deliver liquidity to stressed companies. A worry is that this new debt binge will weigh down corporate balance sheets for years to come, and limit growth. These concerns are probably overdone.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 11th 2020
What US-China Decoupling Means For The US Dollar
Almost all of the world’s commodity trade is done in US dollars, so any commodity-importing country must keep much of its central-bank reserves in US currency. The fact that China, the world’s largest commodity importer, pays for these imports using another nation’s currency was an anomaly even when the US and China got along. As US hostility towards Beijing increases, this raises four possible scenarios.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Arthur Kroeber
Aug 11th 2020
Hawks In The Driver’s Seat
The China hawks are at the wheel in the Trump administration and driving as fast as they can. In this report, Arthur outlines the many tactics being employed by hardliners in the White House to lock in an adversarial stance against China ahead of the US elections. However tense things have been so far, even tenser times lie ahead.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 10th 2020
The Destruction Of The Monetary System
A basic assumption for Charles has long been that the creation of money was not under the control of governments but loosely related to value being added in the private sector of the economy. However, with governments now willfully upending this relationship, he thinks the capitalist system faces its biggest upheaval since 1917.
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Aug 10th 2020
The State Of The US Recovery
The renewed Covid-19 outbreak in the past two months put a brake on the US recovery, but that engine is again firing. Despite many states having reversed opening measures, Friday’s payroll report came in strong, with the unemployment rate down to 10.2%; high-frequency data like mobility readings paint a similar picture.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Aug 07th 2020
Taking On Tencent
President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Thursday imposing restrictions on Tencent and ByteDance, two of China’s biggest software giants. In this report, Dan explains how the broad language in the orders might end up blocking any US person or company from working with the firms, dealing a major blow to their operations.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 07th 2020
How To Pay For Sin In The Future?
Just as success has many fathers, there are many possible explanations for the upside breakout in gold prices. Obvious explanations include a rapid rise in monetary aggregates across the OECD, the fall in the US dollar and growing US-China tensions. An overlooked explanation is the demise of physical cash as a liquid and easily transportable asset.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Aug 06th 2020
Emerging Markets And The Dollar
A weakening US dollar is usually an unalloyed positive for emerging markets, so it is no surprise that their assets have rallied since the March 23 bottom in global markets—equities are up 45%, while bonds (both US dollar and local currency-based indexes) have gained 20%. Happy days indeed, but the next stage of the EM rally is likely to be more exacting for investors.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Aug 06th 2020
Video: A Joe Biden Presidency?
With the US presidential election less than three months away, polling suggests Joe Biden and the Democrats have a chance at a clean sweep of the White House and Congress. While Biden has been open about wanting to raise taxes and tackle climate change, he would inherit an economy still reeling from the coronavirus shock. With this in mind, Yanmei outlines what the 100 first days of a Biden presidency are likely to look like.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 06th 2020
Leading The Way In Export Recovery
Chinese exports have outperformed expectations due to booming sales of goods related to Covid-19 and Chinese manufacturers staying open when their international counterparts were forced to suspend production. In this report, Thomas explains why China's export growth will continue to flatten in H2 as global trade catches up.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 05th 2020
Tech As The Battlefield Of The Unfolding Cold War
Despite technology issues sitting at the heart of the great-power struggle between the US and China, tech stocks continue to brush off geopolitical tensions. Louis is concerned that the market's assumptions don't line up with reality on three counts. It all adds up to a bad brew for tech.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 05th 2020
Different Decades, Different Backdrops
In the months after the 2008 global mortgage crisis, gold prices broke out to new highs in part driven by the belief that quantitative easing would trigger higher inflation, perhaps even hyper-inflation. Against such a backdrop investors flocked to real assets. Today, similar forces seem to be at work, although maybe in more concentrated form.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Aug 05th 2020
Bringing Back Volatility
Cleaning up the messy world of wealth-management products is still a key mission in China’s financial de-risking campaign, even if the PBOC has now had to give banks another year to work on it. In this piece, Xiaoxi explains how the regulatory crackdown is pushing the risks hidden in WMPs out into the open, increasing market volatility.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 04th 2020
Why It Won't Be Hamiltonian
A number of Gavekal writers, in addition to a good share of investors in eurozone assets, saw last month's embrace of mutualized lending to hard-hit European economies as a game changer. Charles is far from convinced that this move has expunged the original sin of the euro, since the single currency area remains riddled with competitiveness problems.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Aug 04th 2020
The Assault On Chinese Tech
After a whirlwind of negotiations, the US government may have succeeded in forcing the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a US company. The US earlier used national-security grounds to restrict the business of Huawei. Both companies still have large domestic businesses, but US government actions over the past year may mark a peak for the global expansion by Chinese tech firms.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Aug 03rd 2020
Europe Stares Down A Second Wave
Europe beat back the Covid-19 outbreak in March and April with decisive responses and reaped the benefit by reopening its economy in the early summer. Now, however, the price of fun in the sun has come due, with a rising case count that has led Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, to label it Europe’s “second wave”. In response to rising infections in Spain, the UK has reimposed quarantine rules on returning travelers from the country, while...
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer, Tan Kai Xian, Yanmei Xie
Aug 03rd 2020
Strategy Monthly: From Bullish To Neutral On The US
The upsurge in second-round Covid-19 infections has put the US economic recovery on hold for now. But government, businesses and consumers have got better at coping with Covid, and in contrast to the first round, the economy is not going backwards.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Jul 31st 2020
Not All Tech Markets Are Created Equal
Aided by lockdown effects, Big Tech has rolled out some stellar results. Self-isolating consumers have replaced devices and devoured cloud computing services, spurring a new upgrade cycle. Such demand has boosted Asia’s tech supply chain, but surging hardware demand is about to become more specific, with some segments facing excess supply and others sustained tightness.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Arthur Kroeber, Tan Kai Xian
Jul 31st 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, July 2020
In our monthly Global Investment Roundtable, US analyst Tan Kai Xian analyzed the latest US data and assessed the risk that the present economic stall-out turns into a double-dip recession. Arthur Kroeber explained why the Trump Administration has amped up its Cold War rhetoric on China. Anatole Kaletsky tied it all together and tried to explain the recent movements in global markets.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang, Wei He
Jul 30th 2020
Questions On The Digital Renminbi
The People’s Bank of China is on the way to becoming the first central bank in the world to launch a digital currency. The idea of a digital renminbi has sparked a huge amount of interest, but confusion and speculation are rampant. In this Q&A, Xiaoxi and Wei provide clear answers to some of the big questions about the digital currency.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Jul 30th 2020
A Conventional Fed
The Federal Reserve did not shift its policy stance yesterday and nor is it likely to announce some big-bang reform after a “strategic policy framework review”, which Jerome Powell indicated should be wrapped up within a couple of policy-setting meetings. That may not be an exciting story, but it is one that financial markets will welcome.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jul 30th 2020
Managing Money In A Keynesian Environment
When Charles looks at US monetary policy, he gets nostalgic for glam rock and big hair, as he is reminded of 1973. However, rather than go on gut, in this piece he sets out to verify that the Federal Reserve is indeed acting as a “Keynesian” central bank. He does this by considering the relationship between US T-bills and the price of gold.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Jul 29th 2020
Don’t Fear The Fiscal Cliff
The Republican Senate proposal for a new stimulus falls far short of the Democratic bill passed in the House in May. Reconciling these differing visions into a unified bill that can pass through both chambers and into law will likely take several weeks at least. As a result, the incomes of 17mn jobless Americans will fall off a cliff at the end of July.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Jul 29th 2020
Construction’s Surprising Resilience
After a robust recovery in construction following the Covid-19 lockdown, the big question now is whether this growth rate is sustainable. Using a rolling sum of construction starts, Rosealea posits that construction should slow only moderately in the second half, providing room for steel demand to continue growing for the rest of 2020.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Jul 29th 2020
Video: The Hong Kong Sanctions Regime
As US-China tensions amp up, Hong Kong faces US actions in response to the national security law imposed by the Chinese government. This includes an end to preferential trade treatment and penalties for foreign financial institutions that transact with officials found to be undermining the city’s freedoms. In this video interview, Dan explains how the program will play out and addresses the question of whether the US government will target Hong...
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Jul 28th 2020
Not Cheap, But Not Expensive Either
I don’t propose to wade into the debate over whether US equities are in are in a bubble or not. I'd only point out that by one key metric—relative valuation—equities do not look excessively expensive today, at least when compared with the relative valuations seen at the height of the dot-com boom at the turn of the century.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller, Udith Sikand
Jul 28th 2020
Indian Banks On The Block
As India's economic and fiscal situation goes from bad to worse, the government is preparing to do the unthinkable: privatize state-owned banks. Ever since the first round of nationalization of private lenders in 1969, the state has kept a tight grip on the financial system. Now it reportedly plans to sell its majority stake in six banks, hoping that an infusion of private capital and managerial skill can nurture them back to health.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Jul 28th 2020
How To Contain A Lingering Virus
China is seeing its highest number of daily new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases since March, and government officials are rushing to contain the outbreak. In this Quick Take, Gilliam explains how China has developed a standard containment strategy to handle this and future outbreaks while minimizing economic damage.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl
Jul 27th 2020
The EU And The Bond Markets
The European Union’s decision last week to issue an additional €750bn of debt in its own name has profound implications for the euro-denominated bond markets. Firstly, the decision will mark the emergence of the EU (or more specifically the European Commission) as a major—and relatively attractive—issuer, on a par with sizable European sovereigns. Secondly, EU supranational issuance will be a stabilizing force in the market, reducing the risk...
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Jul 27th 2020
Playing Volatility Convergence
When the initial Covid-19 panic gripped US financial markets in March, the near term volatility priced in by both equity and bond markets leapt steeply. But the volatility priced in by the equity market rose far more in relative terms, and has been much slower to recede. As a result equity market vol remains abnormally elevated relative to bond market vol, offering investors an opportunity.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jul 24th 2020
In Defense Of Marxists And Communism
Charles has often appeared on television shows in France as the token right-wing guy asked to debate a socialist or communist on the proper role of the state. He misses those days, for both he and his adversary usually agreed that the objective was improving the welfare of the average Frenchman—even if they disagreed profoundly on how to achieve this.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Jul 24th 2020
Edging Toward A New Cold War
The US decision to close China’s consulate in Houston is a big deal. The precise motivations are obscure but the story is not: the Trump Administration is turning up the heat on China before the US presidential election. In the next few months Washington is likely to make new moves pushing the US closer to a Cold War posture against China.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson
Jul 24th 2020
Macro Update: The Supply-Side Recovery
China has rapidly bounced back from its Covid-19 lockdown, but the recovery has been an unbalanced one with supply outpacing demand. Economic policy has also turned more cautious amid exuberance in property and financial markets. In this regular chartbook, the Dragonomics team outlines how the next stage of China’s recovery will proceed.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Jul 23rd 2020
Do Bubbles Predict Or Project?
With the second quarter data season now in full swing, the rebound in equity prices that followed the Covid-19 panic seems to have stalled. So, what happens now? In this piece, Anatole follows up on Louis’s recent efforts to define reasons for the surge in equity values and proposes a fresh explanation centered on the nature of bubbles.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Jul 23rd 2020
Video: A Fiscal Cliff Approaches
With the Covid-19 outbreak in the US still worsening, special unemployment benefits that have provided a lifeline for 17mn Americans stand to expire at the end of next week. Yet unlike in March, there is scant appetite in Washington DC for a swift bipartisan deal to extend support for the jobless. In this video interview, Yanmei explains what is at stake for the US economy if politicians cannot make a deal before heading off for their summer...
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Gavekal Research
Tan Kai Xian
Jul 23rd 2020
Living With Hard Times
Even as the Covid-19 outbreak materially worsens in the US, the pricing of financial assets remains benign. Is this equanimity justified or are we just waiting for the next shoe to drop? Myself and Will Denyer have been in the constructive camp on US equities, even if we are now squeamish about valuations, and continue to think that markets have it about right.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Jul 22nd 2020
The Marginal Impact Of Housing Renovation
The State Council recently announced a nationwide target to renovate 39,000 antiquated residential compounds in 2020, improving accommodation for 7mn total households. In this Quick Take, Rosealea explains how the target will provide space for local governments to further tighten property policy without upsetting China’s economic recovery.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jul 22nd 2020
The US Dollar Starts To Break Down
The US dollar is back to the panicked lows of March when Western economies were being locked down. Back then the prices of financial assets reflected a lack of liquidity, rather than fundamentals. Today central banks have ensured ample liquidity, so Louis explores various reasons that could explain the US dollar’s apparent breakdown.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Louis Gave, Nick Andrews, Cedric Gemehl
Jul 22nd 2020
Webinar: The Direction For Europe
Anatole Kaletsky, Cedric Gemehl and Nick Andrews joined Louis Gave to talk about what lies in store for the European Union in light of Tuesdays agreement on a €750 billion Covid-19 recovery fund.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Jul 22nd 2020
Europe's Deal
Most of the attention paid to the European Union’s recovery fund deal, secured in the early hours of Tuesday morning, focused on how much of the agreed €750bn would be distributed as grants and how much as loans. That’s understandable. Haggling over this balance was one of the main reasons the talks dragged on into their fifth day. But as far as investors are concerned, the relative size of grants and loans is among the least significant aspects...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jul 21st 2020
The Consequences Of ‘Worthless Cash’
In the second quarter of this year, global equity markets registered their best quarterly performance in two decades. In this, the third paper of a series about the record-breaking rebound, I will consider the possibility that the present growth in monetary aggregates is leading investors to conclude that they have no alternative.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Jul 21st 2020
The Next Steps In US-China Decoupling
As the US election approaches, the Trump Administration is intensifying pressure on China on all fronts. In this report, Dan outlines the executive-branch agencies tasked with implementing sanctions and restrictions, what they have accomplished so far, and what tools are at their disposal should Trump decide to further escalate the situation.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jul 21st 2020
Toward A Renminbi-Gold Standard
As the international trading and monetary order of the last 50 years continues to crumble, the endgame must be the US dollar losing its lofty position at the apex of the system. Louis and I have argued that this process began in and around 2005 as the US moved to “weaponize” the dollar, thereby ensuring the renminbi’s emergence as a competitor.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jul 20th 2020
What Will Stop The Gold Bull Market?
The sustained outperformance of very large-cap tech stocks means that any manager who substantially underweighted the sector has likely lost clients. The exception may be those who favored gold and gold miners, which have experienced a “stealth” bull market. I say stealth because the precious metals rally has garnered limited headlines, scant investor interest and fewer reflections on either its causes, or consequences.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Jul 17th 2020
Unpicking The Tourism Effect
Despite a worsening Covid-19 situation in many big developing economies and concerns over central banks’ monetization responses, emerging market investors continue to climb the wall of worry, betting that a putative “second wave” does not stymie the recoveries of developed economies and China. But another challenge for EM economies is a collapse in foreign tourism.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Jul 17th 2020
A Long Autumn For Covid In The US
Covid-19 has largely gone into the rear-view mirror in East Asia, and has been tamped down in Europe, but keeps dominating the headlines in the US. Infections in the current US wave are likely to peak in the first half of August, while deaths will peak in late August or early September. Recovery in sectors with high levels of human contact will continue to be retarded through the summer. About one-eighth of GDP, and a quarter of the workforce,...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley, Rosealea Yao, Wei He, Xiaoxi Zhang
Jul 16th 2020
The Recovery Tapers Off
Although Q2 GDP growth rebounded strongly after Q1’s significant contraction, sequential growth slowed considerably into June. In this Quick Take, Thomas, Rosealea, Wei and Xiaoxi report on why despite this latest rebound it will be difficult for the country to maintain its upward momentum as it moves into Q3.
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Gavekal Research
Nick Andrews
Jul 16th 2020
From Temporary To Permanent
“Nothing,” Milton Friedman famously declared, “is so permanent as a temporary government program.” He was right, which is one reason Wednesday saw the euro climb to its highest against the US dollar since the first days of the international Covid outbreak in early March, while 10-year Italian government bond yields fell to their lowest. Investors are betting that the European Union’s €750bn “Next Generation EU,” proposed as a temporary facility...
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Jul 16th 2020
Video: Singapore's Policy Path
Just days after securing another five years in power at the ballot box, Singapore’s government announced that the island republic’s gross domestic product contracted a worse-than-expected -12.6% year-on-year in the second quarter. However, with large accumulated fiscal reserves, the government has considerable scope to spend in order to stimulate Singapore’s economy.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie
Jul 15th 2020
A Simmering War Over Digital Taxes
The US and Europe are in a standoff over how to tax digital companies. The US Trade Representative on Friday announced tariffs on French cosmetics and handbags, to take effect next year unless France drops plans to tax American tech giants. The worry is that such a dispute spirals, causing a further degradation of the global trade architecture.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Jul 15th 2020
Pick Your Side
The British government’s decision to block Huawei from the UK’s 5G mobile network, confirmed yesterday, is further evidence that the post-Covid world is splitting into two opposing security blocs. International distrust of China is hardening along ideological lines, spurring liberal nations to prioritize national security over economic growth.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Holland
Jul 14th 2020
Oil’s Unintended Consequences
On Wednesday, ministers from the Opec+ oil exporting cartel will meet to decide whether to begin scaling back their production cuts, but with the prospect of a renewed increase in infection rates, it's safe to say they will adopt a cautious approach. More interesting is whether they will err on the side of excess caution, causing the oil price to rise.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Jul 14th 2020
A Bumpier Road To Semiconductor Supremacy
The Chinese semiconductor industry has made substantial progress over the last year, making credible gains in both design and production—despite attempts by the US to stymie China’s advancement. In this report, Dan explains how the US has escalated its anti-China campaign and outlines the rough road ahead for the industry.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Jul 14th 2020
India’s Pharma Problem
India, the world’s pharmacy, is in danger of running out of drugs. The source of the danger is India’s deteriorating relationship with China, which provides up to 70% of the bulk ingredients for India’s pharmaceutical industry. Most Indian pharma makers hold at least two months of stock, but if the situation is not resolved, the global pharma supply chain could be disrupted.